Unheroic Appetites
by CravenJester
Summary: There's someone new in class 1-A, and no one knows anything about him. That's just the way he likes it. It's safer for them that way. Besides, if they ever found out the truth, what chance would he have of ever becoming a hero? Of being able to repay his debts... Whatever the case, his appetites might just be the end of him... Or someone else. This is a reupload because I am dum.
1. New To School Somehow

**Unheroic Appetites**

 **Heh… So, the last time I tried to upload this I forgot to proofread and wound up not writing an entire section. So anyone who's returning to this fic for whatever reason, uh, I hope you enjoy it this time… heh...**

 **Damn I'm an idiot...**

 **Anyway, might as well get this out of the way: I don't own anything related to My Hero Academia or Tokyo Ghoul. By the way, does anyone even know why we have to write these? _Do_ we even have to write these? Regardless, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Akihiko Mori had a secret, and no one cared. He always ate alone, he always refused to talk about his personal life, and he didn't have any friends. Of course, it had only been a few days since he had been transferred to class 1A, but even still his extreme isolation would have been bizzare if anyone had even noticed. Except Midoriya.

Mori was a plain looking kid. Very plain. His hair was a dull brown and short, he was no taller than should be expected from a junior high student, and his eyes were completely unremarkable. Ask anyone and they wouldn't be able to tell you what colour they were, though in reality they were a dull greenish brown, but so easily forgettable that you had trouble remembering almost the moment you looked away.

Everyone expected he would get his hero license and then fade away into obscurity working for some adequate hero agency, maybe distinguishing himself from time to time or making a headline but nothing more. He was destined for mediocrity.

That was what everyone else saw, but to Midoriya there was something else about Mori, something hard to place. Maybe the reason he felt this way was because he had been served a similar dish at one point. Being shunned by his classmates. He knew how hard it could be to be the least remarkable individual among many, so maybe that was why he decided to approach Mori, exactly one week after his transfer, as the bell rang to mark the beginning of lunch.

"Hey, Mori!" called Midoriya, running to catch Mori as he exited the class. Mori turned to him.

"Oh. Midoriya. Can I help you with something?" he asked, slightly puzzled as to why anyone should actively seek him out.

"Oh, uh…" Midoriya stammered. "I was just wondering if you'd like to join me and Uraraka and Iida for lunch."

Mori seemed a little taken aback. "Uh, sorry about that Midoriya, but I didn't bring anything to eat. Besides why would you want me of all people to eat with you?"

"Well," said Midoriya "it's just that you always sit alone during lunch, and I thought it might be nice for you if you had a little company."

"Oh." Mori was at a loss for words.

"So, will you be joining us?" asked a beaming Uraraka as she exited the class and caught up to her classmates.

"Yes. I too wish to express a desire to eat with you today," said Iida, who had followed Uraraka. "It's good for a class's overall learning capacity if every member is equally involved as a member of the class." He was delivering sharp gestures with his hands to punctuate each word.

Mori seemed a little overwhelmed. "Well... if it's the class rep asking I guess it would be rude to refuse."

"Excelent!" exclaimed Iida.

"Yeah," said Midoriya. "And don't worry about not having any lunch. It's on me today."

"Oh, no that's okay really. I appreciate the offer, but you don't have to do that," said Mori.

"Oh, come now. We insist!" Said Iida.

"Yeah, we do!" Uraraka chimed in.

"Besides, I think you'll need the energy for later today. I heard that Mr Aizawa was planning to run us through some more quirk exercises."

"Oh. I see. Well then I appreciate the offer. I'll have to pay you back sometime though."

"Don't worry about it! We're happy to pay," chimed in Uraraka.

"Of course we are," said Midoriya cheerfully.

"...Thank you, guys," said Mori quietly.

"Come on now, I heard that Lunch Rush is making his specialty white rice today. You don't want to miss that," Midoriya said cheerfully.

"Of course not."

The walk to the cafeteria was more quiet than usual. The three friends would normally have all kinds of things to discuss, but with Mori present it might have seemed rude just chatting amongst themselves. Mori didn't seem to mind though. He had a small, quiet sort of smile as they walked together.

They were strangely quiet in line too, and the odd, quiet smile that Mori wore seemed to have vanished. When he finally reached the front he seemed a little surprised when asked what it was that he wanted.

"Umm… I'll just have the same as him," he said, gesturing towards Midoriya.

"Good! It's just what you need. Get some meat on those bones!" Lunch Rush said jovially. "One bowl of white rice, and a side of assorted fried vegetables, coming right up!"

Mori seemed a little crestfallen as he took his tray, even though he was given a crisp thumbs up from the Chef Hero.

"Come on, let's eat over here today," said Midoriya, leading the way to an unoccupied table.

Lunch started quietly too, and Mori didn't eat much. He quickly and quietly stuffed small amounts of rice into his mouth, and chewed and swallowed quickly. He didn't seem the type to really enjoy eating. It was Uraraka who broke the silence first.

"So, Mori," she said. "What do you do when you're not training to become a hero? I mean, do you have any hobbies or stuff like that?"

Mori looked up. "Oh, um. I guess. I draw sometimes."

"Really? That's great! Are you any good?"

"Uh, I guess. I'm not sure."

"Here," she said, passing him a pen. "Draw me something."

He hesitated. "...That's not really how it works. I can't just draw something out of the blue. I have to feel like it. There needs to be some inspiration… Well, I guess that's not entirely true. I could do a portrait. They're pretty spontaneous."

"Oh, great! Please, draw me!" she said excitedly.

"Sure thing. Just, give me a moment. Also, I'll need you to hold still while I do this."

"Oh, sure thing."

Both Midoriya and Iida watched closely as Mori quickly drew a rough outline of Uraraka's head, then the shape of her hair, then about where her eyes, nose, and mouth would go.

"That's Incredible Mori," exclaimed Midoriya. "It already looks so much like her!"

"Yes. It truly is fantastic to see the way you can so easily construct her face," said Iida seriously. "The process is fascinating, the way you start with the broad recognizable shapes, and move down into the more intricate details."

Uraraka sighed. "That's just like you Iida. You can make something as beautiful as art sound like a dusty old lecture"

"Please, Uraraka. Don't move," said Mori.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's alright, I don't have much longer."

It was true. In moments Mori had put down his pen, and slid the scrap of paper he'd used over to Uraraka.

"Wow! That's Incredible, it looks just like her!" Midoriya said excitedly. "You're really good at that." He thought back to the times he'd tried to draw exactly what the heroes he'd admired looked like in his journals, and he had thought he'd done a good job then. But seeing Mori in action, how quickly he'd managed to capture the essence of Uraraka, how lifelike she was? It almost made him jealous.

"Can I keep this?" Uraraka asked, breaking Midoriya out of his reverie.

"Of course. I drew it for you, didn't I? Besides, it's not like I don't already have enough art."

"You have more?" Uraraka asked curiously.

"Sure, lots. It's all in my room at the dorm. I'll show you all sometime if you like."

"Oh, yes please," said Uraraka excitedly.

"Yeah, that'd be fantastic," echoed Midoriya.

"...Sure thing. Just, swing by some time and I'd be happy to show you."

The rest of lunch passed pretty much normally, the friends talking about what they had learnt in class, or things that heroes had done in the news recently. Mori was relatively quiet, but he did pipe in from time to time. Then, all of a sudden, lunch was almost over, and MIdoriya suggested that they head back to class.

"Don't worry guys, I can take care of our trays today," he said, piling everyone's trays and bowls and plates onto his, and lifting them carefully.

"Oh, thanks Deku," said Uraraka with a smile. "See ya!"

Mori smiled too. "I'll see you back in class, Midoriya."

His friends departed, and Midoriya was very careful as he walked their trays back to the counter. He thought that today had been a success, and that Mori had enjoyed his time in their group, as brief as it was. When Midoriya made his way back to class he he distinctly heard the sound of vomiting coming from the boys' restroom.

 _Huh,_ he thought to himself, _someone must have eaten something that didn't agree with them. I hope they're alright,_ and continued on cheerfully.

…

"Alright," Mr. Aizawa spoke. "There were rumors that you would be testing and training with your quirks today. That is not entirely the truth. You will be assigned a partner, and you're going to fight. Eachother."

This caused some surprised mutters, but nothing really bad. It was a hero course after all. Fighting was kinda to be expected.

Iida raided his hand.

"Yes," asked Aizawa in as bored a manner as possible.

"Sir! If we are to fight in one on one bouts, how will the matches be decided, especially since there is now an odd number of students in this class?"

Aizawa sighed. "I'll be drawing two names at a time. Each pair will fight. The last three names in the bowl will fight a three way match. Understand?"

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir."

"Alright! Go get you stuff on, and be quick about it."

…

"Is everyone here? Good, we can start," said Aizawa.

"Hold on, where's Mori?" asked Midoriya.

"Oh, right, him. I forgot he was here."

"That damn nerd, he better not keep us waiting any longer," yelled Bakugo, small explosions crackling around his open palm.

"Oh, here he comes-" said Toru, followed by a small "eep!"

Everyone turned to look.

"Wow, did you really have go overboard on the creep factor?" asked Yaoyorozu.

"I know," added Kaminari. "I mean, I thought Tokoyami was supposed to be intimidating, but you?"

"I don't know what to say," said Mori rubbing the back of his head. "I just thought it would be better if the villains were afraid of me."

"Yea, no duh," said Mineta. "But did you really have to go so far?"

Mori wore a mask that looked like it came out of a nightmare. It was more of a helmet really, and it was shaped generally like a skull, but it had goggles poking out of the eye sockets. The nose had an empty hole with cloth behind it to allow Mori to breathe, and the teeth had been replaced by small, smooth spider mandibles that flowed eerily smoothly. The mask looked to be made from real bone, but it was probably just a synthetic material. Underneath, he wore a long black coat with the collars turned up.

"First match," Aizawa called. " Akihiko Mori and Hanta Sero."

Sero looked surprised, but readily walked into the ring. Mori followed him, and as he passed through the crowd Kirishima said, "Hey, you've got a big hole in the back of your coat."

"I know," Mori calmly replied, his voice lended a hollow ring from the helmet.

As he entered the ring Aizawa said, "Okay, you can begin." Mori just stood there.

"Huh, well you should know that just because you're the new kid I won't go easy on you." And with that, before he'd even finished speaking, Sero flung his tape from his arms and grabbed Mori, spinning him around the ring, and then stopping, and letting Mori's momentum wrap him completely. Mori fell over. "Huh, you put up no fight at all," Sero said, turning his back on his bound opponent. "Maybe I should have at least let you use your quirk," he gloated.

A cloud covered the sun.

"Didn't you?" There was a tearing noise, and a gasp from the onlookers. Sero swirled to see Mori's form hanging in the air, suspended by four extremely long crimson spider's legs which had sprouted from his back. The ribbons of Sero's tape were fluttering to the ground around him, reflecting faintly in the dim light. Then Mori rushed him.

...

The rest of the day's classes wore on as usual, nothing really interesting happened at all in any of them, and when it was time to return to the school dorms there were few voiced complaints, apart from Iida, who was very vocally displeased with the disorganized evacuation of the classroom.

That night passed easily as well, and then the week, and then the next week, with strangely few moments of excitement, especially considering U.A.'s track record.

And then it happened.

It was long past curfew when Midoriya heard the crying. It was a Wednesday night, and it was pouring. No one had seen the rain coming, but then, just as the sun set, a thunderous blanket of water crashed into the world and drenched it in oily blackness with lingering, violent bursts of lightning tearing into the black gulfs of the night. He was on his way back to his room after a quick trip to the restroom when he'd heard it, a light quiet sort at first passed off as a figment of the imagination, but it was hard to ignore when Midoriya literally stumbled upon its source.

Toru was sitting, back against the wall, shaking gently with her sobs, and as Midoriya regained his composure after literally falling over a naked girl, he tried to comfort her.

"Hey, Hakagure, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there. What's the matter?" He questioned gently.

She answered between sobs. "It- It's Mori…"  
Midoriya blanched. "What about him? Is he alright?" There was urgency in his voice. It wasn't outside the spectrum of belief that something had happened to him. Afterall, even though he was late, he was a part of class 1-A.

"I- I saw him. He was d-dripping wet, and w-wearing that m-mask of his," she sputtered.

"He went out? Huh, that's weird…" Midoriya muttered.

"Y-Yeah, I heard from Mineta t-that he l-left campus every Wednesday after curfew, and I just though maybe it would be a g-good idea to f-find out where he w-went."

"Is that why you're, um… not… wearing… clothes?"

"Mhm," she muttered in confirmation.

"So he frightened you, is that it?" Midoriya questioned. "I'll admit his mask is definitely creepy."

"No, that's not why I got scared." She hesitated for a moment. "He… He was carrying a human arm."

There was a shocked moment of silence.

"...What? It- It must have been a trick of the light," Midoriya desperately tried to explain.

"I'm telling you Midoriya," she pleaded. "Look! There are drops of blood!"

Indeed there were. Small crimson jewels sparkling in the dim light of the corridor. And they led down the hall towards the elevator.

"You can't have really seen that. Mori's a good friend. And besides, what would he want with an arm?" Midoriya tried desperately to refute Toru's claims. Even still, he felt the cold hand of dread clawing at his heart. "Look. I'll go check on him, make sure that he's alright, then I'll come back and tell you what I find out."

"...Okay, Midoriya. Just… Be careful…"

"I will," he said with a nod of assurance. He then rose and padded softly down the hall towards the elevator. He was about to call it when he realized that the drops led right past it and towards the stairs. Midoriya guessed it made sense. If Mori really was sneaking around in the night, he probably wouldn't want to risk anyone hearing the elevator call when he returned, even if he did sleep all the way on the top floor.

As Midoriya climbed so did his sense of dread. Everything about this scenario seemed wrong. Like out of a nightmare, but he continued anyway, following the small pips of blood up the stairs until he reached the top floor of the building, and then followed them down the hall. He paused when he saw the edge of a small splash just under the the wood of Mori's door, and when he again began to approach it, be could just barely hear faint shuffling through the thunderous rainfall.

Midoriya swallowed the lump in his throat before he gently knocked.

There was a moment, and then "Go away," came Mori's muffled voice through the door.

"It's Midoriya. Can I come in?"

"No, go away. It's not a good time," came the response.

"Seriously, I need to come in. Hagakure said that she saw you… saw something bad, and I need to make sure that you're alright."

"Not right now, Midoriya. This is really a bad time."

"I can't accept that answer, Mori. Not right now. Now please open this door, or I'm gonna have to force it."

"No! Just leave me alone!"

That did it. Midoriya placed his hand on the handle and twisted. Nothing.

"Stay away Midoriya! This is none of your business!" A hint of desperation was entering Mori's voice. It only added to Midoriya's stress.

"Full cowling." he whispered to himself. A small tingle of energy entered his body. It was a comfort against the stress of the night. But it couldn't prepare him for what he would see as he forced the door open.

There was a crack as the wood of the door's frame splintered around the metal of the handle, and the door swung open with a creak. The room was pitch black, only a small amount of light entering from the window at the back and at first Midoriya only noticed the thick smell of blood. Then there was a flash of lightning, and the room was illuminated in stark black and white, the only color being the deep red dripping from and around mori's mouth to the severed remains of an arm clutched tightly in his hands, and the twin pin pricks of red gleaming in the centers of his eyes.

What looked like bloody tears streamed down Mori's face as he screamed a final "No! No, this isn't what was supposed to happen! I… I was supposed to become a hero!"

Midoriya screamed.

* * *

 **Gah…**

 **Alright. I guess I just had the urge to write some author's notes. Weird, huh? So, my goal in creating this character was kinda to do an inverse of your common anime hero. Y'know, the personality of a paper towel and yet it seems like everyone is interested in them. I tried to make it different for Mori. I wanted him to be so normal seeming that no one gave him a second glance. Of course, it might be a little hypocritical of me to say this stuff considering that he is the focal point of this story, but anyway. Maybe I'm just talking out of my ass. Of course, the more interesting part of this story is probably going to be just reactions and interactions. I was really curious to see how one might react upon meeting a Ghoul for the first time with absolutely no prior knowledge as to how they work.**

 **I was gonna write more, but this is probably a good spot to end the chapter and keep the interest going... What did you think of the first chapter? I might make more, but i already have so many projects in the works that I should probably try and finish that it may not happen for some time.**

 **Another thing. I just wanted to recommend some stories, specifically ones of a similar taste to this hopefully. _Glass Lilies_ by FineChyna is spectacular. I especially like it because of the way you don't really need to be all that into RWBY to enjoy it. It is a fantastic read and comes highly recommended.**

 **And finally, please write a review! I love to hear anything you have to say about my work! It means that someone read. And, honestly, that's all I want. I just want to know that someone read my story. So, if you did and are feeling charitable, please just let me know at least.**


	2. Blurred Lines

Hey hey! So this story was a lot more successful than I had anticipated! I guess it is a bit more niche than other categories. Anywho, thanks to everyone who reviewed, that was really awesome, and thanks also to everyone who followed! I'm sorry it took so long to me to upload, but I'm lazy and not creative, so it'll probably like that in the future too, if I even manage to update at all. I mean, my creative process goes like this. I think of something, then I do it. No great plans, just situations that I think are neat. If you're here thinking I'll be writing some great saga, sorry, that's probably not going to happen.

Oh, here! I guess I'd like to respond to anyone who took the time to review, because I really appreciate it!

 **DIO Over Heaven:** Cool, glad you liked it! Two comments though? Now that's enthusiasm!

 **WeWuzKangs'N'Shit:** Well, here it is! I hope you enjoy.

 **IamOminous:** Well, there may be some truth to that, but you forget. Most people don't understand that ghouls can't eat anything else, so they just tend to think they're sick or insane or something. Besides, I'm gonna say that in this, there are like, I dunno, 1 in every 500 million people are ghouls. Really rare, so it's kinda niche. I get where you're coming from though, and I like where your head's at. Also, about people dying…

\ /

You gotta read more!

Anyway, I don't know if I have to say this at the begining of each chapter, but id someone knows please tell me, but I'll go ahead and do it this time anyway, so…

I don't own My Hero Academia or Tokyo Ghoul. I'm not rich enough.

* * *

Midoriya and Mori were silent for a long time. One in shame, the other in shock. The only sound was the distant crackle of thunder and the heavily oppressive sound of rain drumming on the roof and window. The room was plastered in art, all haphazardly stuck to the walls, like some kind of nest or the inside of a cocoon.

"...Midoriya…"

The sound of his name broke Midoriya out of his shock, and, although he wasn't one to run from danger, he didn't know how to handle the revelation that his friend and classmate was a cannibal.

So he ran.

As he quickly dashed down the hall towards the stairwell, one last defeated "...Midoriya, wait…" trailed after him, almost drowned out by the thundering rain and the pounding of his heart in his ears. He didn't wait. Instead he ran as fast as he could, not even using the stairs, just leaping down them. He soon reached the ground floor, and sprinted across the common room, and exited the dorms.

He didn't really know where he was going, and it was pouring out. He just knew he needed to find a teacher, someone who could deal with a situation like this. He almost slipped and fell as he cascaded through the night, the wet tiles slick with rain. So it was a relief when Midoriya head the familiar voice of his homeroom teacher call out as he approached the main building.

"Midoriya! It's long past curfew. What are you doing out, at night, in the pouring rain?"

"Mr. Aizawa! I'm so glad to see you!" called Midoriya in relief. "It's- It's Mori. I think he's killed someone," he said desperately, trying to catch his breath as his teacher watched him from the dry haven of the doorway into U.A.

"Is that so? Tell me about it."

His teacher's calmness at the matter was unnerving, but he was a pro. HE was probably ready to deal with any situation, no matter how bizarre. "Yeah! I found Hagakure crying in the hall and she said that she'd seen Mori carrying something strange, and that he'd frightened her. So I went to his room, to see him and see if he was alright. When I knocked he told me to go away, so I forced the door, and… and there he was… eating... eating it," Midoriya began to feel sick at the memory but managed to choke out the last words. "-Eating a human arm."

Mr. Aizawa's response was… unexpected.

"Huh. So you found out. Of course, I'm going to have to reprimand you for breaking school property and not respecting a class mate's privacy."

"...What? Did you not hear me, professor? I said Mori's eating people!"

"It's alright Midoriya, I heard you the first time, and I am already well aware of Mr. Mori's… eating habits, along with the rest of the U.A. faculty."

That took a while to sink in.

"...What? How- How could you allow someone like that become a student at our school?" Midoriya asked, starting to become angry at his teacher.

"Believe me Midoriya, I'm just as unhappy about it as you are, but principal Nezu believes that he should be allowed to study here. He says that no one as dedicated to becoming a hero as Mori is should be denied entrance to U.A. Most of the staff was unhappy about the decision, but every one of us, even All Might, eventually agreed to keep his secret and teach him as though he were just another student."

"What? Why? He kills people professor!"

"Does he? And you saw him do this? That would clearly be breaking his contract with the school."

"What? No, professor, but-"

"You should go speak to him, Midoriya. Ask him why he wants to be a hero, despite what he does. It might open your eyes," he turned to leave. "Well, it sounds like I'm done here now that Mori's back. Can finally get some shuteye," he said. And with that he faded into the night.

Midoriya stood there in shock, the rain running down his face and back. Mr Aizawa's words echoed in his head, replaying over and over like a broken record. 'Ask him why, ask him why, ask him why, ask him why, ask him why, ask him why… He wants to become a hero?'

It was with shaky steps that Midoriya began to shuffle his way back to the dorms, slowly navigating his way through the murky depths of the night, the hard rain drumming on his skin. It was a shallow relief when Midoriya found himself standing in the threshold of the U.A. dorms, and he felt cold and hollow as he made his way back to the empty stairwell and began his ascent yet again, each step a wet slap on the concrete steps. His mind was still clouded with Mr. Aizawa's words. 'U.A. knew?' he thought. 'All Might knew? Why were they okay with this? What reason did Mori have to become a hero? And why… why did he -' Midoriya gaged at the thought and almost tripped as he made to take another step, but found there were no more. He had reached the summit.

The gravity of what he was planning on doing was beginning to dawn on him, but before he could turn back, before he could think twice about meddling in the affairs of others, be started his slow march down the hall, his resolve building as he approached the broken frame of the doorway. The door hung slightly open, but not enough to see inside. Only a sliver of space separated it from the busted frame. Midoriya hesitated one last time as he placed his hand on the knob, readying himself as he pushed it slowly open.

It was like nothing had changed. Mori still knelt in the middle of the room, crimson eyes downcast, blood streaking his face and hands. His shoulders were slumped, and he seemed to have released what before he had so tightly clutched in his hands. He didn't seem to notice as Midoriya gingerly stepped into the door frame. That was until he gently breathed "Midoriya…"

Midoriya stiffened slightly at the sound of his name. "Mori," he said firmly. "I spoke to Mr. Aizawa about you. He said that the U.A. staff know about you. About what you do."

"Yes…"

His answer was short, defeated. "Why? Why did they allow you to study here? Why do you want to become a hero? Why do you- Why do you eat people?"

Mori looked up at this. His eyes were back to normal. A greenish brown so unremarkable that Midoriya almost forgot who he was looking at. "You're soaked Midoriya."

He shook himself. "Never mind that! I just want answers!" He was almost shouting.

Tense silence hung for a moment in the still air.

"...Allright. Come on in. Have a seat. I'll get you a towel, something warm to drink, and I'll tell you everything."

To say Midoriya was on edge was an understatement, he was already on the verge of filling himself with the power of One For All, but he stepped in to the room and closed the door as best he could. Mori pointed to a chair he could use and ,as Midoriya stiffly sat, he started rifling through a cupboard.

"Here," he said throwing Midoriya a soft blue towel. "I'll make some coffee. Try to dry yourself off."

As Midoriya sat, restlessly fidgeting, he examined the room. The walls were absolutely covered in drawings, small paintings, rough sketches, and the subject matter was all over the place. Intricately designed flowers were nestled up next to sharply rendered gothic cathedrals. Heroes and villains clashed, and great landscapes sprawled across the walls.

That was when Midoriya saw the portraits. Mori had drawn one portrait of every student in class 1-A, even Mineta. There was a sketchy impressionist Tokoyami, or was it dark shadow? And there was Iida composed geometrically out of right angles, and crisp clean lines. One half of Todoroki's portrait was drawn with charcoal, and the other looked to have been watercolored. Hagakure seemed to be the only one who didn't… Oh, wait.

Midoriya jumped a little when a steaming mug was thrust before him. "Do you want sugar? Milk?" Midoriya took the mug but didn't answer. "...Alright," Mori said sitting on his bed. Sometime between throwing Midoriya his towel and handing him his coffee Mori had washed his face and hands. Midoriya looked to the ground and saw that the arm was gone. He carefully scanned the room and noticed a small fridge, a bloody fingerprint on the door, and a sturdy padlock. "What do you want to know?"

Midoriya's mind blanked for a moment, and then, "Everything."

It took a moment for Mori to compose himself, but then he said, "Alright then. I'll tell you a story. It might be long, but if you want the truth you'll just have to bear with me."

Midoriya nodded slowly. Mori sighed.

"My family lived a secluded life. My parents had no real friends, only acquaintances, and I was never allowed to have any of my friends from school come over to our house. Every day it was 'go to school,' 'eat only what we pack for you,' and 'stay safe.' For the longest time that was how things were, and it was good. But one day, in the third grade, I came home and my parents weren't there. It was normal for them to be out at night once a week, and every time they'd come home with dinner and enough food to last us another week, so I wasn't worried."

"This time though, they never came back. I don't know what happened to them. I suspect that they were out finding a body, maybe even killing someone, and they were caught by some hero. They either died in the fight, or they were taken to prison where they would have eventually starved to death in solitary confinement."

Midoriya flinched at this part. His parents ate people too?

"But, you see, I didn't know as a kid what my parents did each week. I always thought that they went to the butcher's, or something like it. So when they didn't return I thought that they had simply abandoned me. I didn't know what to do. So I just tried to live my life as normal. Sometimes people from my parent's work would come by looking for them, but I just told them that they had gone on vacation to america and left me with my aunt who was out at the moment."

"I continued going to school too, trying to act like my life was just normal. But eventually the food from home began to run out. I tried eating normal food, but it just made me feel sick and throw up. It didn't stop me from trying though, and the more I ate the sicker I got. I didn't understand how everyone could stand it, and I made a lot of friends angry when I said that their mother's cooking tasted like the scum you find at the bottom of a dumpster. Eventually I realized that eating normal food would just kill me."

"And as time passed and I didn't have anything to eat for weeks, I began to smell something. I didn't know where it was coming from, and it was faint at first, but each day when I got to school I would smell it again, and stronger. It smelled like my mother's cooking. It didn't take me long to realize however that it was my friends who smelled so delicious. Every time someone got a cut, I would lose my mind. If I ever sat next to someone it was all I could do to stay still. It was only a matter of time before I lost my control and hurt someone. And then it happened"

"School had just let out and I had let my guard down. I had begun taking a route home that kept me away from too many people, you know, so that I wouldn't be near that delicious, sickening smell and could relax a bit. And then I saw her. She was a fellow student from my class, Itsumi Yokoyama. She and I had never really talked, but I thought she was pretty, and everyone seemed to think she was this perfect little angel. But here she was, lurking in this back alley away from prying eyes, and she had a cigarette clenched between her teeth, and a lighter in her hand. I don't know how or where she got them, but she was struggling to strike the flint and start the gas at the same time, and somehow she managed to pinch her finger in the mechanism, and a single drop of blood escaped."

"I can't tell you how much I wish I don't remember what I did, but I remember every second of it. I remember the look of shagrin on her face as I stepped out of my hiding place behind a dumpster, how she quickly hid the cigarette and lighter behind her back. I remember the sound of her innocent sweet voice desperately trying to explain away what she had been doing, that I shouldn't tell anyone. And I remember the look, of terror on her face as my spider legs climbed from my back, and then the shock as I tore her apart. She didn't even have time to scream."

"Her blood was warm, her flesh was soft and sickly sweet, like overripe fruit, and when I stopped packing myself full I finally realized what I had done, and what my parents had hidden from me. I was a monster."

Midoriya was sitting very still as he listened to Mori tell his story, and he was shocked when he saw a small trickle of blood begin to streak down his face. 'He's crying,' he thought.

Mori took a shaky breath. "They never found the body. There was nothing left to find. Afterwards, when I got home, I desperately washed myself, trying to get the taste of blood out of my mouth, but I can never wash the blood from my hands. I decided then that I had to find a way to attone. To… to give my life for the world. After all, I had taken exactly that and more from someone else. I started looking for other ways to feed myself, desperately searching. Eventually I found a bridge. I guess people like to go there when they have nothing left to live for. I… I take what I can from them. And now I owe it to them as well. I need to serve this world from which I have taken so much. Otherwise… I don't know what. I just know what I need to do, and if I can't do that… I don't know what."

Midoriya stood slowly. What Mori had said was a lot to digest. Before he knew what he was doing, he walked over to Mori's side, and gave wrapped the towel over his shoulders. Mori looked up at Midoriya, the red eyes back, and he wiped his tears on the towel.

"Thank you. For listening," he said.

Midoriya didn't respond. He was tired, and confused, and really needed to return to his room. He slowly moved from Mori's side, moving on shuffling feet towards the door.

"Midoriya." He looked at Mori. He looked back with tired eyes. "Please don't tell anyone. I'm not sure I could face them if they knew."

"... We'll see," Midoriya said, and left the room.

* * *

Hah! For those of you who say that the characters aren't acting like they should be, eh. Yeah. Probably. I guess I'm manipulating them to do and say things they wouldn't for the sake of the story. Sorry about that. If you have any suggestions though I'm happy to hear them!

With that said, I guess it's bye for now. Au revoir!


	3. Thicker Than Water

What in the goddamn? Looks like it's taken me... four months? uUuUuoopsie. Four months till an update. Sorry guys. Well, I just didn't have any ideas for where to go, but now... I've got one. And it's this chapter right here, right now. Also, I just realized that the title of my story has the initials U.A. Huh. That's pretty neat.

Moving on, I've got some reviews to respond to, so, here.

 **DIO Over Heaven:** Hey, it's good to see you stick with it. I hope you managed to hang on long enough to read this one too. Also, is your name a Jojo's reference?

 **kira:** I guess that pretty much sums it up, huh?

 **Guest reviewe** r **:** Uh, should I respond to these? I will this time, but in future cases I think I'll read them, and move on. For now though, I'm glad you liked it. I definately understand what you're saying, and I agree, but I wasn't sure if I was going to continue the fic, (reasonably so it seems) and I wanted to get that moment out of my head and onto the... paper?

 **NightShadeFlare:** I'm glad you enjoyed it! Please, have some more.

 **BloodRedJay** : No suggestions... NO SUGGESTIONS! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, GET OUT OF MY LIFE! (Thank 4 read)

 **IamOminous:** Yeeeeessss I Wiiiilllllll.

Hey, so since I still don't know if I have to write this for each chapter, I'll do it anyway.

I don't own My Hero Academia or Tokyo Ghoul. I don't have the caps.

 **VERY VERY IMPORTANT!**

I thought I should say that I wrote, for the first segment of this chapter, a very sexually charged segment. I will put markers to let you know where it begins and where it ends, but I still thought I should have a warning. Unfortunately, I mixed the sex with some story stuff, might be important, who knows, but I'm not doing any kind of summary for it. So, there's that.

* * *

It was flat silent in the U.A. dorms. Not just quiet, though, the kind of quiet you hear when everyone stops talking for an instant and everyone notices it. Except, there was no one there to hear it besides Midoriya. He walked through the halls slowly, as though the air were thick like honey. He couldn't remember how long he'd spent wandering the empty halls looking for his classmates, and he knew it couldn't have been long since there were only twenty students in the dorm, and he'd been checking doors. But it still felt like he'd never stopped. The thought 'twenty one' floated lazily around the edges of his mind, but flickered away as quickly as it had appeared.

It wasn't cold in the dorm, but it wasn't particularly warm either, though the golden patches of light streaming through the windows did comfortingly warm Midoriya as they draped across his form, and he rounded bend after bend of halls with locked doors. He didn't have to try the knobs to tell they were locked; it had been that way with every one before, and he knew that these would be no different. He pressed onwards slowly, and he was getting tired from the warm sun, and the thick, heavy air, and he thought 'maybe I'll just sit down for a moment.'

Midoriya pressed his back against the wall, and slowly slid down, yawning and closing his eyes. Drifting. Then he opened them. They snapped to a long, thin dark line where a door was just slightly ajar. 'That's strange,' he thought as he lumbered to his feet and lazily approached the door. 'I just passed that. It was closed then...'

As he drew closer, a noise, faint, began to drift from the sliver of darkness. At first Midoriya thought it was snoring, but it was too wet, and the sound slowly sunk deeper into the pit of his stomach. Eating. He tentatively stretched out an arm the thousand miles to the knob and began to pull, gently, teasingly. The door was heavy, though the wood was sandy and light. It felt as though Midoriya were pulling against a current, gentle, but insistent. It was half way open now, but Midoriya still couldn't see inside, and the sound had stopped.

The door slammed all the way open. It was Uraraka's room. Dry, clean, empty, and dark. Some light from the windows behind him passed over his head and under his arms and lit parts of the carpeted floor. He stepped in. The warm light was a comfort on his back, and the rug tickled his bare feet. Then he heard her voice.

"Midoriya?" it asked sleepily.

He spun to see Uraraka standing in the doorway, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the golden light haloing her soft brown hair, and playing along the folds of her nightshirt. "Ochako..." he muttered.

"What are you doing in my room?" she asked, and stepped in, shutting the door behind her with a thud. It was dark for a moment, then a soft click, and a small bedside light flicked on. Uraraka was sitting on the bed. Midoriya moved slowly, and sat next to her. He could feel her warmth, spilling off of her, smell her heat. Her voice broke him out of his reverie.

[Sexy Stuff Incoming]

"Pardon?" he said.

"Why are you here?" she asked again with a soft giggle, and a gentle smile.

"Oh," Midoriya said. "I was looking for you." When he said it he knew it was true, there was nothing truer. He felt right in that room, with that warmth, that smell, that feeling. Feeling? He looked down, and saw her hand on his. When he looked up, she was closer, her dark eyes swallowing him. He only had time for one more "Ochako..." before their lips met.

It was a dark, hot passion that overtook them. Tasting one another, smelling feeling, listening to each other's breathing against the deafening silence. Slowly, they leaned backwards, Uraraka's head resting gently on her pillow, her back arched, pressing her body up against his. Midoriya had one hand gripping hers, holding it up near her shoulder, his other worked feverishly at the buttons on her shirt. Then, her shirt was gone, and he threw his own off. He pressed himself back into the heat, the smell, the sound, the smell, the heat, and the crushing pressure.

He could taste the sweat on her exposed skin, and feel her hands tugging at his waistband. Leaning into another kiss, he got onto his knees and undid the knot holding up his pajama pants. Hers were already hanging off one ankle, over the side of the bed. The warm glow of the lamp wrapped around her form, and the heat in his body began to burn and roil. It felt almost like the power of One For All coursing through his body. He looked into her eyes, a dark pleading, and a short nod, and he pressed himself forwards.

The cry when he entered her was softer than he'd have thought, but he barely noticed, so focused was he on the heat, the smell, and the pressure. The smell was heavy now, invading him. He pressed forwards again, and pulled back. Uraraka clutched him, her legs circling his back. Her skin was hot and sticky.

"Deku..." she moaned softly into his shoulder, and he pressed himself into her again. Her pressed his face into her shoulder. The smell, goddamn it, the smell. The smell made him feel... empty... so empty. It hurt, that in this moment, at the _closest_ moment, he still felt empty. Distant. No. He needed her, needed to feel her, be full of her. The smell, the taste. She moaned loudly. He pulled back, and a string came with him. Hot wetness spilled across him, and the smell became stronger, overwhelming, and he saw that a chunk of flesh from her arm had come away. He swallowed. The emptiness had diminished. Uraraka moaned again. "Deku..."

He pressed in again, and bit into her shoulder, tearing away skin and muscle. Blood poured into his mouth, her smell, her taste, the emptiness. He bit again, this time her breast, tearing it away, and she moaned. Again he bit, the heat built up, stronger, like a river against a dam. Her smell, her heat... it was inside him now. She was inside him, and he was inside her. Again he bit. And again. Again. Again. Her bed had become a hot , boiling, mess of red and pink, and brown. She screamed, loudly, shrilly into the damp heavy silence and went limp, and he let out a roar, primal, animal. He pressed in, and the dam broke.

[Safe-Zone]

...

Midoriya Shot up in his bed. He was covered in sweat, and breathing hard. Quickly he scrambled to his feet and rushed across his room to violently wretch into his trashcan.

...

For Uraraka, it was another morning like any. Particularly good, even. The heavy rains of last night had given the air a cool chill, but the rain clouds had all dissipated, and the warm rays of the sun were a comfort. After a short trip to the bathroom, and the showers, she returned to her room, threw on her school uniform, and skipped down the stairs to the common room. Several other students had already woken up, and after saying brief good-mornings, she fixed herself breakfast, and sat at one of the couches.

She was probably halfway done when Deku plopped onto the couch beside her. She was about to give a cheery good morning, but his glassy eyes, and the dark circles under them dissuaded her. His hair was messier than usual, and he had an all around disheveled look. His tie, which was usually loose, was now tight, and strangled. He had gotten some of the buttons wrong on his shirt, and forgotten to tuck it in. A few other students gave him odd looks before continuing with the morning bustle.

"Morning..." he slurred out.

"Hey, what's wrong, Deku? You look awful." Uraraka asked, leaning towards him and clasping her hands.

"Hm? Oh... 'snothing... 'm tellin' ya. Just... just a bad..." Then he met her eyes and tensed up. "Oh! G- Good morning, Uraraka!" He sat straighter, licked his lips, and jerked his tie around. He looked everywhere but at her eyes.

"Midoriya, what's wrong? Did you not sleep well?"

"Well... no, no not exactly."

"You look terrible. Your tie's all knotted up, and you buttoned your shirt wrong. She said, and shuffled over, reaching for his tie. Rapidly, he scooted away, grabbing his tie and saying "don'tworryI'vegotitI'vegotitThanksforlettingmeknowNoIsleptjustfinehowdidyousleep?"

Uraraka settled back down, and gave Midoriya a strange sidelong look. She said "I slept just fine, thanks. I think you should go have Recovery Girl take a look at you, you really look awful..."

Midoriya relaxed a bit, his tension releasing like a puff of steam. "Thanks, Uraraka, but I'm fine. You were right; I did sleep badly. Some nightmare."

"Nightmare, huh?" she said. "Well, it's no surprise considering what we've gone through recently. What happened? What was it about?"

Midoriya's face went bright red. "Oh, nothing, nothing at all!" he squeaked.

"Come on, you can tell me, Deku," Uraraka pressed with a smile and a laugh.

"Honestly, I can't remember a thing. Really!"

"Okay, if you say s- Oh good morning Mori!"

"Good morning, Uraraka. Midoriya." said Mori, quietly, as he sat across from the two. He had a plate with an already have eaten sandwich on it. Midoriya looked From the plate to Mori and back again so many times and so quickly that Uraraka would have thought he was using his quirk if he hadn't previously looked too tired to even stand.

Uraraka jammed an elbow into his side. "O-Oh! Good morning Mori!" He squeaked.

Mori nodded, and then said "Uraraka, do you mind if I steal Midoriya for a moment? I need to speak to him in private."

"Oh, of course, Mori, just please make sure he goes to see Recovery Girl after, alright?"

"It's a plan," said Mori dryly, practically picking Midoriya up by the elbow, and dragging him away, through the front door.

"Huh," grunted Uraraka. "He left his breakfast."

...

"What's up with you?" Mori asked as he took a hard left away from the windows opening into the common room. "You look awful."

"I just slept poorly," Midoriya said. "I thought you couldn't eat normal..."

"I can eat it, it's just that if I don't get it out of my system before I digest it, it can be really bad. Enough, and I might actually die. Dunno. I wasn't able to keep it up."

Midoriya shook himself free of Mori's grasp. They had gone around back, under the umbrella of a wide old tree. No one was around. "Look, Mori, I gave it some thought, and-"

"Hold on." Mori cut in. "I have something to say first. I just wanted to tell you that U.A. has no idea what I do, got it? I don't care if you tell anyone, but not one teacher is aware of my diet, or my past. As far as they know I'm just another student. You got that?"

At first Midoriya was confused, but it soon dawned on him that Mori must have been trying to protect the U.A. faculty"...Yeah. Yeah, I think I got it," Midoriya answered slowly. "But-"  
"That goes for you too, Hagakure."

There was an "eep!" from around the corner, and then closer Midoriya heard "yeah, yeah I understand..."

"Good. Now, what was it you were going to say Midoriya?" said Mori, without even turning his head.

"O-Oh. Well, I just... How did you know Hagakure was listening?"

"I could smell her."

"Smell me?" Hagakure said with a mixture of shock and disgust.

"Yeah," said Midoriya. "How come you didn't smell her, or me, last night?"

"It was raining a lot. I don't know why, but the rain really dulls my senses. I can only smell about normal in a downpour that bad. I also saw the door open again after we left."

"O-Oh..." mumbled Hagakure.

"Look, if that's it, I've gotten what I needed to say off my chest, so do you mind if I go get ready for class?"

"Yeah, hold on a second!" said Midoriya, grabbing Mori's arm. It was like grabbing a bar of steel.

"What is it?" Mori asked flatly.  
"I just wanted to say that... Your secret's safe. I won't tell anyone." Mori softened. His posture slouched a bit.

"Thank you Mi-" he started.

But he was cut off with an exclamation of "What!" from Hagakure. "Are you kidding Midoriya? He eats people! You saw the arm, didn't you?!" She screamed.

"I know, Hagakure, but, please, keep your voice down." Midoriya pleaded.

"Why? So that nobody knows he's an actual cannibal? He's a monster, Midoriya! He's admitted so himself!"

"You're not wrong," came Mori's reply. "You can do as you wish," he said, and then stalked off back around the building and out of sight. Midoriya felt alone for a moment; it was hard to remember that there was someone nearby when you could see right through them. But then her heard her footsteps.

"Hagakure, wait!"

"What is it Midoriya?"

"You can't tell anyone..."

"Why?"

"...You heard him last night, didn't you. You were listening." Midoriya said quietly. "He tries his hardest not to hurt anybody, but he still feels guilty. I just... I can't help but think... How would I feel if I was in his place? For the longest time, before I discovered my quirk, I would have done anything to have one. I used to think that quirks were blessings... But now I see that having a quirk can be worse than not having any. I can't help but thinking that If I were him that, I might not be trying to become a hero... That I might instead just be trying to hide from it..."

Silence ruled for a long time, to the point where Midoriya thought that maybe Hagakure had actually left while he was talking, but then she said, "fine. I'll keep his secret, but the moment - the moment he tries to hurt anyone... Mori's secret is out."

* * *

Alright, alright, alright. So, Chapter Three done. A little shorter than usual, but hell, I just had to spit this out. I'll be honest with you guys. I don't think there can be a fourth chapter. I'm running out of Ideas, as in, that was my last one. So, please, If anyone has any good ideas, situations they'd like to see... Anything! Please... Pretty please... Just tell me? I'd dedicate the chapter to you, add in a wacky reference, anything!

Well, that about does it. See you next time space cowboy.


	4. Ow, What The Hell!

Okay, It's been a while, but you know me… Inconsistency is my middle name. I have to give a huge shout out to **IamOminous** , you really saved my skin here with that idea. Thanks a million.

Now on to reviews, I guess.

 **Death of Snipers** : Heh, well, you make some good points… I hope that I address some of them here, but it might just be in aknowledgements. Also, I just wanted to clarify that Mori is aware that U.A. knows about him, he just wanted to make sure Midoriya would say otherwise if he was ever exposed. He was trying to protect the school. Still, thanks for reading and taking the time to review. It means a lot.

Huh, I guess that's it… Wow. I though for sure there were more, but whatever. On with the show, I guess.

I in no way own either Tokyo Ghoul or My Hero Academia.

* * *

"I AM HERE," boomed All Might as he thundered into the classroom before quickly disappearing into a puff of steam leaving his frail withered form behind. He coughed a bit, and took his place at the podium.

It was the Friday two weeks since Mori's secret had been discovered by Midoriya, and so far not a sign of any misdoings, which almost made it worse, with Midoriya knowing the extent of Mori's misdeeds. But a promise was a promise, and Mori's secret had been kept securely, or at least as far as Midoriya could tell. In all honesty though, despite his classmate's cannibalistic tendencies Midoriya not only sometimes forgot about Mori's quirk's quirks, but even, to his great chagrin, that Mori was in the class at all.

"Today I'll be assigning you all a new class project," began All Might, briefly glancing at his papers. "Normally since the classes are even I would have you work together in pairs, but seeing as you have a new student-"

"We have a new student?" shouted Bakugo from his slouched position at his desk.

All Might sighed. "…Yes, young Bakugo. Your new classmate Akihiko Mori has been with you for several weeks. I'd advise you to become more familiar with your fellow students, if not in the effort to become friends, then at least so that you may better understand their abilities. It seems like it's the only thing you're interested in anyway." All Might coughed again. "Moving On. For your new project you will be sorted into groups of three."

There was a bustle around the class and students looked around murmuring to each other Already forming alliances for the tribulations to come.

"However," All Might said loudly to be heard over the chattering, "you have already been sorted into groups that the U.A. faculty came to a consensus on. People you work well with, and people who help reinforce the other's weaknesses. Hopefully, you will all find this an opportunity for growth." Midoriya raised his hand. "Yes, young Midoriya?"

"All Might sir, you still haven't told us what the project is."

"Ah, yes, of course. After my unfortunate retirement, people may have drastic opinions on the current state of hero society. While not exactly a hero's job to be aware of the public's sentiments towards heroes it can be crucial when on the job to be aware of the public's perception of hero culture. To that end, you will design a poll for the public, and write a full report on your findings. Any subjects you wish to tackle should be related in some manner to heroes, and their place in society. In order to begin each group will need my go ahead on their topic. Now, take a moment to think on what subjects you might like to tackle while I write the groups on the board, and then, discuss with your partners. At the end of class I want you to come to me with your ideas."

With this All Might turned and began scribbling lists of names on the board. Midoriya was hardly paying attention, however. He considered what All Might had said. It was true that All Might's retirement had come as quite a chock, not only to Japan, but the whole world, and people were probably becoming quite frightened, what with Endeavour becoming the No. 1 hero in his place. Endeavour didn't have the same reassuring presence that All Might had, and it was hard to see who might become his replacement as the symbol of peace and justice. Maybe that would be a good idea? Replacements? Hmm…

Wrapped up in his thoughts Midoriya had failed to notice that All Might had finished writing, and his classmates had begun to move around the room forming into their own small groups. A hand was laid on Midoriya's shoulder, and he nearly fell out of his seat. He turned to see Mori, an excessively neutral look on his face.

"Looks like we're partners," Mori said.

Midoriya looked up. Sure enough the list of groups had been scrawled on the black board at the front of the room.

Katsuki Bakugo, Eijiro Kirishima, Minoru Mineta

Mezo Shoji, Fumikage Tokoyami, Koji Koda

Yuga Aoyama, Mina Ashido, Tsuyu Asui.

Denki Kaminari, Kyoka Jiro, Mahirao Ojiro.

Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Tenya Iida

Rikido Sato, Hanta Sero, Toru Hagakure

Ochako Uraraka, Izuku Midoriya, Akihiko Mori

"Oh, great," exclaimed Uraraka as she bounced up to the pair. "I can't wait to get started! I'm sure Deku has some great ideas, he could probably write a book when it comes to heroes," she said excitedly to Mori

"Of course."

"Heh, yeah... Maybe someday, but it's a long way off, that's for sure."

"So, what's the plan then?" Mori leaned against the wall and focused his eyes somewhere in between the floor and outer space.

"Uh, well..." Midoriya started. "I was thinking something along the lines of a poll on the potential replacements for All Might? I mean, I'm sure people have plenty of ideas about who the next symbol of peace should be, so maybe doing a survey on either popular candidates and examining the most common threads between them, or we ask what qualities people believe are important for a great hero, and suggest some potential heroes based on those criteria."

"Sure."

"Oh, I don't know..." Uraraka struggled. "Mori, you've got to have more of an opinion than that?"

"Not really."

"No? Rgh..."

"I don't mind either," said Midoriya.

"You're really not helping, Deku."

"O-oh, I'm sorry."

"Fine, the second one," said Mori with a huff. "They both work, let's just do that one."

"The aspects of heroes?"

"No, the one about monkeys in space," he spat.

"... Are you feeling alright?" asked Uraraka.

Mori sighed. "Yeah, sorry. I... I just have a really bad feeling in my stomach, is all. It's been hard to find food that works for my new diet, and I'm kinda hungry." With this he gave Midoriya a significant look.

"Oh..." said Midoriya, his face grave.

Uraraka, however, excitedly asked "What Diet?"

"Something new. You wouldn't have heard of it."

"Oh, come on," she poked him.

He gave a wry smile. "I eat people."

Uraraka looked shocked for a moment, then burst into giggles. Softly, Mori followed, and Midoriya even gave a few uneasy chuckles, glancing over at Mori in between. Hungry? That could be bad, really bad... Midoriya resolved to ask Mori what the situation was later. It could be dangerous if Mori hadn't... eaten... in a while, and he didn't want to risk Mori lashing out at anyone.

The rest of the class went relatively smoothly, they first got their topic okayed by All Might, then spent nearly the rest of class working on the survey questions. At one point Mori muttered "I hate surveys..." but that was about the only malcontent that came about from the project.

Nearly five minutes before class had ended All Might called for everyone's attention. "Listen up everybody! I must have forgotten to tell you this, but you should know that this survey will be performed on your own time during this weekend, and submitted on the Wednesday after."

A chorus of groans rose from the students, end Mori had a mildly annoyed look darken his face, but there was little vocal complaint. This was a hero course after all. It required absolute dedication, no matter what. As the class' mutters began to wear down the school bell rang, signalling the end of the day, and most of the students began ponderously to stuff their bags with textbooks and binders. But, before Mori could make his way back to his desk in the corner of the room Uraraka stopped him.

"Hey, I think we should keep working on this, I mean we need to go out tomorrow and start asking the questions, so we should probably have them down to a science," she said with an apologetic smile, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I agree," said Midoriya. "Why don't we meet after dinner in-"

"Mori!" Uraraka interrupted. "You said that you wanted to show us your room at some point, right?"

"Well, I-"

"Yeah, why don't we go back to Mori's room after we eat, and continue our work there?"

"... Fine."

Midoriya broke out in a cold sweat. This could be bad... Uraraka had no idea what was going on with Mori, and if they met in his-

"Just let me clean up a little first. I don't want you guys to see my mess," Mori said flatly, and shuffled back to his desk, to grab his unopened bag.

...

It was later, after the short meal from which Mori was rather inconspicuously absent, that Midoriya went ahead to Mori's room without Uraraka. Now was the time. As he cleared the steps, he noticed that Mori's door was no longer set in a broken frame, and it occurred to Midoriya that he hadn't been to Mori's room since that night, when he and Hagakure (Whom he hadn't known was there at the time) had caught Mori in the act, and heard him tell his story.

Midoriya knocked politely on Mori's door, and a muffled "who is it? escaped."

"It's Midoriya. I want to talk to you about your... diet."

Mori's door opened. The room was warmly lit, and the window open, the air warm and muggy. Mori, it seemed, had foregone completely changing into casual clothes, and instead had just discarded the tie and un-tucked the shirt of his school uniform. His hair had grown slightly, but not enough to really make a difference. It was completely boring.

"My diet?"

"O-oh," Midoriya stuttered, realizing that he'd been staring.

"I heard that you hadn't eaten..."

"Come in." Midoriya did, and Mori shut the door behind him. He sighed. "I haven't been having much luck at the bridge I mentioned," he said, then caught himself. "That's a funny thing to say, isn't it? Bad luck that someone hasn't been so miserable that they've thrown themselves to their deaths. I suppose I should be grateful that people's lives are going so well, but... It's starting to cause problems."

"Problems?" Midoriya asked.

A sigh. "So far I've been managing alright. Just a little irritable here and there, but not eating for over half a month... It's starting to take its toll."

"Over half a month... You mean the last time I saw you-"

"Was the last time I ate, yeah..."

They were quiet for a bit, then "If there's anything I can do I-"

"There's nothing, not unless you want me to eat you. Or you feel like going and finding me a body on your own? I didn't think that would be the case."

"... Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, so long as I can remain calm. I had meant to go out tonight, but with you and Uraraka here, the earliest I'll be able to go is tomorrow after we've finished with our project."

Then there was a knock on the door, and a bubbly voice passed through the heavy wood. "Mori, It's me, Uraraka. Are you ready?" Mori went and opened the door, and Uraraka entered. "Hey, Deku, you're already here! Oh, wow..." she said, almost going slack at the sight of the drawings plastered to Mori's wall. "You did all this?"

Mori coughed. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Oh, you've got the teachers too. Neat!"

"You have the teachers now?" asked Midoriya, his interest perking up.

"Wait, you've already seen these, Deku?"

"Yeah, I came by once to... check up on Mori. He showed me then. You've got other heroes too..."

By this point, Mori had retreated to sit on the edge of his small desk, watching the two as they admired his work. His lips twitched.

"Look, that's All Might!"

"Oh course you'd notice that one first. Ooh, it's Gunhead!" She turned to Mori, "I interned with him, you know."

"Wow, is that Denim Devil? Not a lot of people know about him, he was one of Best Jeanist's sidekick's before going independent. It caused a bit of controversy, and some people are saying that he might actually take over for his old master while he's recovering in the hospital."

"I like his style. Either of you two want some coffee?"

...

It was hours later, many deliberations and even some mild arguments had come and gone, though nothing outside the realms of friendship. The questions had been set, the tables developed. Each participant in the survey would choose the three most important aspects that a new symbol of piece should [have]. Then, the aspects would be tallied up and afterwards a discussion would be had on who would best fit this role, and what the attributes mean to the public understanding of heroes. Really, it shouldn't be too hard, not with Midoriya there to help.

"Alright," said Uraraka. "I'm exhausted. I guess I'll be seeing ya tomorrow then. Goodnight, Mori! Goodnight Deku!"

"Goodnight, Uraraka," Midoriya parroted.

She left the room and Shut the door gently behind her. Midoriya checked his phone. The time said it was already nearly 10:15, an uncommonly late night for Midoriya. As a hero in training he needed a full night's rest in order to fully take advantage of the day, an opportunity some of his classmates neglected, and to their detriment it seemed.

As he was about to get up and leave, a drawing caught his eye. It was almost hidden under other, newer drawings, but Midoriya took a few steps closer and it was really unmistakable. It was Mori's helmet. The design was sketchy and rough, probably the prototype which he had worked on before submitting a full design to the hero course's costume department.

"I see my helmet's caught your attention," said Mori from the side.

"Yeah, the design is…"

"Unsettling?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"I'll be honest with you, I originally designed it so that people who saw me out… collecting remains… would think that I was some kind of monster, or a ghost or something. I wanted to look as far from human as possible so that people couldn't recognize me."

"But-" Midoriya started. "… We've all seen it."

"…Right." Mori deflated. He slapped his face into his palm. "Damn it."

"Maybe if you-"

"Forget it. It probably wouldn't have worked, anyway. I'll just leave it next time. Don't want my most identifying feature as a hero the get caught on some freak toting around body parts. People could get the wrong idea."

Midoriya couldn't help but laugh at that last part, and part of him regretted it. It wasn't something to be joked about, but something about how Mori had said those words had tickled him.

"Goodnight, Mori," Midoriya said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Mori didn't offer his own goodnight, but walked with Midoriya, and shut the door behind him. It was strange, but Midoriya felt himself becoming at ease with Mori again, little by little. He knew he shouldn't be, Mori was a cannibal for crying out loud, but still… there was something about him. It made Midoriya wonder why Mori didn't have more friends. Then he remembered. If he had the same condition as Mori did he probably wouldn't want too many visitors himself. For a moment Midoriya felt sad, but the time, and prospect of what the weekend held soon kicked him right in the sleepy balls, and he started to doze his way down the hall. He remembered making a gentle promise that he would try to make sure Mori didn't feel so lonely.

...

The day had gotten off to a strong start. It was just before lunch when they had went out into the streets of Musutafu, and the day was hot. Summer was just beginning to wind down, but that didn't mean there weren't any scorchers still hidden up its sleeves. The trio had gone out to try and catch people as they went on their lunch breaks, and maybe try asking a few store clerks if they were willing to participate. Most people were willing, if not enthusiastic, but others seemed eager to share their opinions on the current state of the world. Only Mori was having some trouble getting people to answer the survey, as people didn't believe that he was a part of class 1-A, let along U.A.

It would have been insulting, or even disheartening to anyone else, but Mori just took it calmly. He was probably in a constant state of focussed emptiness, trying not to get riled up in any way. He'd said earlier that it was getting harder to control himself, but so far everything seemed good.

As the day wore on, the group tried again with the crowds which had been released from work. They were less receptive to the teens' requests, clearly in a hurry to return home and relax, but some still answered, and, as a way of celebrating a so far very successful census, Midoriya suggested that the group get a little something to eat, seeing as they had only eaten a small lunch. It was when Mori blanched that he remembered.

"Uh… Or maybe we could just return to the school," he said. "I think I forgot to finish the report that Present Mic asked us to finish for Monday, and I really want to get that done, heh."

Mori released a small sight of relief, and added. "That was due on Monday? I should probably get to work on that too." This was a lie, he'd had it finished the night it was handed out.

Uraraka looked disappointed. "Aw man," she said. "I was really getting hungry, and after all that work I though we really deserved a treat." She slowly melted into a puddle on the ground, and a grumble thundered from where her stomach would be. Midoriya crouched down, and gently pulled her up by her shoulders, waiting for her legs to return to a solid state.

"I'm really sorry, Uraraka, but we can stop in at a convenience store on the way back, If you like?"

"Ugh, alright, Deku. It's not exactly dinner, but it should hold me over." She finished with a tired grin, and crinkled eyes. Sweat dripped down her forehead.

"At least it'll be air conditioned," Mori mentioned, and Uraraka's eyes flashed. She straightened.

"Well, come on then, let's go." She slowly spoke, and shuffled her way onwards. The other two followed, and their procession moved through the fading orange light of the afternoon.

Soon they came to a storefront, lit up with a neon 'OPEN' sign, and cardboard cut-out posters advertising lotteries and ice slush drinks. Opening the door was amost like opening a refrigerator, and the trio almost stayed out in the had muggy afternoon, but Uraraka entered, and the others followed after her.

The light was sharp inside, it stung, and to Mori the smell of cheap air freshener and toxic cleaning chemicals burned his nose. There were a few other people in the place, an old lady with cat eyes and ears, and a small bag of groceries at check out, the old man behind the counter playfully flirting with her. Mori almost gagged, and Uraraka tried to stifle a titter. It wasn't a big place, the middle filled with processed foods: chips, cans, bags of candy, and the back wall of the place was lined with glass fridge doors. There was a girl there, long black hair tied back into a ponytail, and large headphones covering her ears blasting away some ridiculous pop tune. Mori grimaced. He looked up into the corner of the place and saw the shopkeeper giving the trio a suspicious, accusing glare, before returning to his playful chatting.

"I hate these places. They feel like cockroach hospitals," Mori said.

"Cockroach hospitals?" Midoriya asked.

"They're so clean, but the only things that could live here are roaches."

"That's funny, Mori," Uraraka said with a small laugh.

She started to skim the shelves, walking slowly up and down the aisles. Midoriya followed her, every once in a while extending his hand, then placing it on his chin as if in deep though, then returning it to his side. Mori just watched them. The girl at the back of the store was still staring into the refrigerated glass, trying, or maybe not, to find a drink she wanted.

Then the bell rang as the door opened. A hooded figure walked in. He was tall, dressed in dark colours, though not quite black, and he had his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. Mori watched him out the corner of his eyes. Why the hood in this heat? The man stepped up next to the old lady, and began speaking in a low voice that Mori couldn't make out to the shopkeeper.

"What?" said the shopkeeper, squinting as if that might help him hear what the other was saying better. "Look, son, you're just gonna have to wait your turn. I'm not finished helping this lovely woman here."

There was some more muttering, and the hooded man leaned closer. Mori was starting to get a really bad feeling, and by the look on Midoriya's face he wasn't the only one. The hooded man was getting louder, though no intelligible words could be heard.

"Look, I told you to wait, so you can either try doing that, or you can leave." The old man was getting angry now, and the Woman had backed off slightly, looking worried. Then the figure reached into a pocket, and the clerk quietly said one thing. "Gun…"

Mori's head snapped up at that, and so too did Midoriya's. They started to move, and the old lady gave a small squeak, so the thug grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. He was loud now.

"Empty your bag," he growled. She did, spilling its contents onto the floor, an orange began lazily rolling along the shining linoleum tiles. He gestured, "Fill it up. Don't think about going for any buttons, I'll know, I've got an X-ray quirk, and you already know what happens if you piss me off."

The clerk shakily nodded, and went to his register. The ding as it opened made him jump, but he didn't move an inch, his eyes focused on the barrel of the gun. The hooded man turned slightly, and shouted back, "Nobody move! I don't want to have to shoot anyone, but I will if anyone tries to be a hero."

Mori, Midoriya, and Uraraka stood frozen, Midoriya shaking slightly with fists clenched.

"You look angry, boy, but you don't have any power right now," the man leered. "People sometimes forget just how frightening a gun can be in a world filled with super powers. I felt like since the symbol of peace has so recently 'retired' I might just remind some people."

Midoriya didn't answer; he just kept his hands raised, and his eyes focused on the man's.

While the man had been preaching he hadn't noticed the girl with the loud music open the fridge and pull out a bottle by the neck. She turned around, and looked confused as an orange rolled up and bounced off her shoe. Then she looked up and froze. The bottle came crashing down to the floor, and Midoriya watched as if in slow motion as it burst, and the hooded man spun his head, his gun following soon after, the old lady squealing.

Then Mori moved, he pushed himself off the floor and right over one of the rows of shelves, propelled by the eruption of his spider legs from his back, tackling the girl to the ground. Then time resumed, and the gunman opened fire, three shots ripping into the glass of the fridge and the bottles behind it, sending shards flying. The other five blasted right into the huddled figures. Fizzing sweet juice flowed out of the blasted frame, pooling on the floor along with a trickle of blood. There was screaming, from the clerk, the old woman, and a shout from Uraraka, but the gunman was silent, eyes wide. He was breathing hard, and his eyes were unfocused, small points in wide white saucers.

"Mori!" yelled Midoriya, and began to move over to the prone form. His motion broke the gunman out of his shock, and he pushed the old woman to the ground and ran, leaving the bag of cash behind. The door's bell dinging behind him. Midoriya and Uraraka rushed to the still form of Mori. As they knelt down they could smell the thick scent of blood, and the sharp sweet smell of the bottled drinks. Midoriya slowly extended a shaking hand to the huddled corpse, but withdrew it when he heard Mori groan, and begin to roll over. He struggled, pulling himself onto his back, then dragging himself up to lean against the glass of the unbroken fridge. He trailed a long red streak of blood up with him. The girl on the ground was whimpering, and tears streaked down her face. Her headphones had fallen off, but you could still hear the music.

"Mori, are you-"

"I'm- I'm fine Midoriya," he said with a cough and a groan of pain. "She needs help though. I thing one of the bullets may have missed me and got her leg. Uraraka, please, you need to find some way to keep her from bleeding out. There are some major arteries in the leg."

The shopkeeper, now free of the hooded man's threats, lunged for a silent alarm, and hurried around the counter to help the old woman to her feet.

"You!" shouted Uraraka. "Give me your belt!"

The old man, stunned, quickly ripped off his belt, and threw it to the young girl.

"Don't worry," she said to the girl. "You're going to be alright. My name's Ochaco, I'm in the hero course at U.A. When I was interning with the hero Gunhead he taught me how to tourniquet a leg wound," she explained reassuringly. "This will hurt, but the bleeding will slow down, and the ambulance should arrive in no time. You're going to make it out alright."

While Uraraka explained this Mori gripped Midoriya's arm tightly. He was looking away, but Midoriya could just barely see red pinprick pupils. "Midoriya, I need to get out of here. You stay, help the police when they show up, and help the girl, but I need to leave. There's too much blood, I won't be able to… Not in this condition…"

"Mori, you can't go anywhere, not like you are now! You-" Midoryia started, but was cut off when Mori began to push his way up the glass.

He left a long red streak behind him, and Midoriya tried to hold him down but was surprised when he was pulled up with Mori. By now the whole building was watching him rise, and watched quietly, aside from the wounded girl's sniffling, as he began to slowly stagger away, blood dripping from the bullet wounds. And then, to everyone's shock, the bullets one by one fell making small chiming noises against the now bloody floor.

"I'm going to make sure no one else gets hurt…" Mori explained, and opened the door, walking out into the now dark streets.

...

Mori had never been shot before, and it fucking hurt. But it was better than being trapped in that room with the smell of blood. He was distraught at how not-sick he felt at that smell, ham much he wanted – needed to go back.

It was that bastard's fault. The gunman. It was tough in his current condition, but Mori straightened up and took a deep breath. He winced, pain lancing through him, and he coughed a little, blood spraying from his lips, but he just wiped his mouth and continued on. He started to pick up speed, moving urgently, desperately trying not to lose that damn criminal's scent in the smoggy late night air.

He found it.

The man smelled like cigarettes and cheap body spray, but also baby oil. It was surprising, but maybe he had a rash. In this weather it was more than possible. And there was gunpowder. Mori took off, making great haste, even though each step tore into him like a new gunshot. Down a few alleys, across busy streets, ignoring the screams of shock and disgust as he pushed people out of his way, still dripping blood. He didn't notice for a while, but he figured that he must have followed the gunman into a district popular for couples to visit on dates. There was the smell of cheap alcohol, and some other, less legal, substances on the wind. But only one interested him: baby oil and gunpowder.

He rounded a corner, his wound burning, and saw the man. The man saw him, his eyes widened. "You! I killed you!"

Mori didn't answer, he screamed. He darted forward, but the man was fast. Mori must have caught up because the man had slowed down thinking he was safely away. The man shot out of the alley's mouth and began to run down the street, his hood flapping around in the wind. Mori tore after him, eyes red, leaving bloody footprints behind. They struggled against the tide of crowds tightly packing the streets, and Mori was catching up. Then the man pulled his gun again and fired into the air.

The crowd let out a collective scream, and the man grabbed a young woman, bashing her boyfriend in the head, knocking him to the ground. She screamed, and Mori moved closer, but the man yelled something unintelligible and he stopped.

"Leave me alone, or she's dead!" the man screamed.

Mori said nothing, just watched the man and panted. The man started to move, quickly dragging his hostage away, moving towards a restaurant with blinking lights and acrid neon in the windows. Mori growled, but didn't move. He just watched.

"Open the door," the man growled, eyes still on Mori. The woman, shakily, extended her hand and pulled on the handle, the glass door swinging open. "Stay the fuck away."

Inside the restaurant was lit with lurid fluorescents, and there was pop music playing over cheap speakers in the corners. It must have been some crappy fast food joint, so it wasn't all to busy at that time of night; only a few couples occupied the plastic tables with attached chairs. There was a very bored looking employee behind he counter. He had on a chicken hat.

"Where's the back exit," asked the man. He was dripping sweat, and his hands shook.

"I'm sorry sir, but-"

"Now!" shouted the man and he pointed the gun. His hostage let out a squeak. The employee quivered.

"R-right this way," he stuttered, holding onto his minimum wage training like it was his life. Maybe it was. The young man came out from behind the counter and moved across to the other side of the place. He started playing with some keys, trying each one into a metal door marked 'employees only.'

"Hurry it UP!"

"S-sorry. P-please don't shoot! Oh! G-got it!" The door swung open.

As the hooded man began to make his way across the neon lit floor the wide eyes of the patrons watched. Everyone held their breath.

Then there was an explosion of glass and a brutal scream. The neon lights went out, and Mori's flying form, spider legs extended, wreathed in glass, was lit only by the sparking electricity and the dim light behind the counter.

The man turned, eyes wide, and he began to move, but Mori was on him in an instant. One of his spider legs shot forward, piercing the gunman's arm and forcing him to drop the gun with a scream. A flying shard of glass buried itself into the man's eye, and both figures toppled to the ground, the hostage stumbling backwards to be caught by the shaking attendant.

The gunman screamed, clutching his bleeding eye with his undamaged arm, His other was still pinned by one of Mori's legs. Mori straddled the man, breathing heavily, his legs forming a sort of impromptu cage. He was rasping, moving close, breathing in the man's scent; breathing the scent of blood. The man whimpered, Mori's eyes almost casting a red glow on his slick skin, and he smiled redly. He was close enough to the man to taste him. He could reach out and take him then and there, devour him. His chest rose and fell. The man began to cry.

With a shuddering shriek Mori moved back, taking his leg from the man's arm and taking a few shuddering steps back. He stooped down and grabbed the man's gun. He didn't know how to handle a gun properly, so he just walked over to one of the customers.

"Please…" he said with a shaky voice. "Take care of this…" He placed the bloody device on the cheap plastic table, and the customer leaned as far back as possible. Mori turned back to the room. "Someone call the police." Then he saw the phones. A few were pointed at him, and he realized he still had his legs out, and his eyes must have been showing their true colours.

He started back, glancing quickly between cameras, and then he almost tripped against the lip of the window frame behind him. He didn't say anything, but he did run. He shot out of the window, his legs carrying him faster than he could run without them, and even taking him up the side of a building. Once on the rooftops he started to move in earnest. He leapt from building to building, and at first he didn't know where he was going, but eventually he found himself back at the bridge. He groaned as he sat on the edge of the building overlooking the small river that the bridge crossed.

He sat quietly for a long time. He didn't know what to do. He'd freaked out. He knew that he was going too far, taking down that villain. He didn't even have his provisional hero licence yet, let alone a full one. What was he thinking? He wasn't thinking, that's what. He sat for a while, until the air became cool. Then a familiar scent moved its way up from beneath the bridge, just catching Mori's attention. He grimaced, or maybe smiled, and je jumped from the ledge, down to the street.

...

It was late at night, and Midoriya was still giving his version of events back at the convenience store. The police had been questioning him, Uraraka, the owner, and the old lady for the last hour, just to make sure that all their stories lined up. The girl with the music had been carted away, taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

The paramedics had said that because of Uraraka's quick thinking with the tourniquet the girl hadn't suffered too badly from blood loss. In fact she might owe Uraraka her life. Uraraka just blushed and said that it was nothing, that it was the right thing to do.

Midorya was just finishing up his version of the story saying for the fifth time that that Mori had run off after the villain with no explanation. He was very careful to leave out any sticky details. That was when Mori returned. He shambled over to the tapeline around the scene, and addressed the officer on duty.

"Officer. My name's Akihiko Mori. I was involved in the incident."

After that the three U.A. students had been taken down to the station to wait for a representative of the school. While Midoriya and Uraraka waited out in the hall on cheap wooden chairs Mori was being interrogated. It turned out that Mori had been the one to actually chase down the villain and apprehend him. The gunman was in serious condition if what he'd heard was to be believed. And Mori could be in serious trouble.

That was when a familiarly short white figure, maybe a dog, maybe a bear, maybe a mouse, popped into Midoriya's peripheral vision.

"Oh, principal Nezu! What are you doing here?"

"Hello, students" the principal called cheerily. "I came down personally to respond to the situation as U.A's representative. I'm here to help provide a defence for Mr. Mori, seeing as he isn't yet a registered hero."

"What? You mean, he doesn't even have his provisional licence?"

"That's what I'm here to discuss," said the principal. He knocked on the door to the interrogation room, and it opened a crack. "Down here," the principal called, and the door swung fully open, admitting the principal. Nearly a half an hour later the principal exited the room with Mori in tow.

"Thank you, Principal Nezu. Your support in this matter means a great deal to me. It can't have been easy to speed through my request for the provisional licence."

"Well, it seemed that the circumstances called for it, and the committee knows that I wouldn't pressure them unless it was absolutely crucial."

"Regardless, I've put you through a lot of trouble tonight, and I'm sorry."

"Well, you did save a life tonight, maybe many. I'd say it was well worth the effort. Come along students, I'll hire a cab to take the three of you back to campus. I will need to stay here a little longer and help sort out the logistics of this issue, but you three look like you could use a good sleep, especially considering the amount of work you have due this coming Monday," the principal said, leading the way down the halls and out of the building.

Mori blanched. "Oh, right…"

"Th- thank you, Mr. Principal, sir."

"It's no trouble. Now please, come along. Let's get this done before the sun rises."

"The sun rises?" Uraraka asked.

"Oh, yes. It's quite late. Or early, depending on your perspective."

The principal was quite short, so he had trouble hailing a cab. Eventually a cop car pulled up and it's driver stepped half way out of the door. "You need a ride, Nezu sir?

"No, not me. But if it wouldn't trouble you officer, could you give these students a ride back to the school? I'm afraid I'll be staying behind."

"It would be my pleasure," said the officer. "Come on, get in. I'll drive with the sirens if you like."

"No thank you," said Uraraka. "We're not in a hurry right now. To be honest, I could use a rest."

"Well, whatever you say, It doesn't bother me."

The trio piled into the police cruiser, saying again goodbye and thank you to the principal as they pulled away from the curb. The rest of the drive was spent in silence. No one had anything to say, not at all. And, after thanking their driver for the ride, the group trudged with weary steps onto the campus. The trio was quiet all the way to the dorm. They all packed into the elevator, too tired to take the steps.

Midoriya was the first to get off. He issued a mumbled "g'night," and trudged off, yawning. He had plenty of thoughts and questions, but they would have to wait. No one among them was in good enough shape for anything like that at the moment. Once Midoriya was gone it was Uraraka's turn to get off next, but she stopped before exiting.

"You know," she said. "You saved that girl's life today. I still don't know how you're standing, let along moving like nothing happened, but you did save her."

"Sure…" he said.

Uraraka started to leave, and the doors began closing, but before they could shut completely Mori extended his hand and stopped them. He leaned his head out.

"Thanks."

Uraraka smiled, and then resumed her crawl back to her room. The doors closed, and Mori leaned into the corner. He closed his eyes, just for a moment, but it was enough. He was full, and he was absolutely exhausted. He didn't leave the elevator until the next morning when Tsu gently poked him awake.

* * *

Jeeze, that took absolutely forever to write. I'm sorry if the end feels kinda rushed, but I just wanted to get this chapter done. I still think it turned out well, and again that's in big part to IamOminous' suggestions, so big thanks to him. I feel tired now… Good night.


End file.
